Public and Private Welfare Activity in the UnitedKingdom, 1979 to 1999

This paper analyses the shifting balance between public sector and privatesector welfare provision in the United Kingdom over the past two decades. Fivesectors – education, health, personal social services, housing, and incomemaintenance and social security – are examined over three time points, 1979/80,1995/96, and 1999/2000. Burchardt’s (1997) typology is used to classifywelfare activities according to who funds them, who provides them, and whodecides on the provider and/or amount of service. It is found that shifts in thecomposition of welfare activity have been relatively small and gradual: aroundhalf of all welfare activity, dropping from 52 percent to 49 percent, is entirelypublic; around a quarter, rising from 24 percent to 29 percent, is entirelyprivate; and the remainder involves a mixture of both sectors. Within the lattergroup, there was a notable increase over time in the contracting-out of publicservices, which rose from 6 percent to 10 percent of all welfare activity.[...]